Macroscopic modelling of coupled concrete shear wall

This study explores several types of macroscopic models, by modifying Multiple-Vertical-Line-Element-Model (MVLEM), to represent the coupled concrete shear wall, with different ways of connection to simulate coupling beam. For this purpose, an existing shear wall in which several openings are symmetrically embedded was studied. The wall was analyzed by the microscopic Finite-Element Method (FEM) in ABAQUS. In order to investigate the macroscopic modelling of the mentioned wall, three different macroscopic coupled shear walls, composed of several nonlinear springs, representing flexural and shear behaviors were studied. The main difference among the three walls is in the type of the coupling beam connection used. Hence, three connections were proposed with different stiffnesses. Unlike the connection, the macroscopic coupling beams for the three models were identical based on moment distribution. In order to model the coupling beam, two separate shear walls were considered which were connected to each other from the uppermost part. Responses of the walls under cyclic, monotonic, and dynamic loadings were compared with those of the verified FEM model. The results indicate that the macroscopic wall with moderate connection stiffness has acceptable consistency in terms of static and dynamic responses of the microscopic model.